Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Friday that catcher Francisco Cervelli has been "a hungry learner" while preparing for his first camp with the team, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

"He is a hungry learner right now," Hurdle said. "He's asking questions, having conversations, watching video tape. It's getting the time on the field, behind the plate, watching the ball out of the hand, getting to know the guys."

"In bullpens, I watch every pitch, where the pitch goes and the mechanics," Cervelli said. "I've got to go slow and keep my eyes open."

Cervelli had a great season at the plate in limited action last year, hitting .301/.370/.432 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 146 at-bats with the Yankees.

The Pirates and catcher Francisco Cervelli avoided arbitration Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $987,500 contract, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Cervelli, who is in his second year of arbitration, made $700,000 in 2014.

The Pirates acquired Cervelli in a November trade with the Yankees. He has a .278 average, .348 on-base percentage, .381 slugging percentage and .729 OPS in 250 MLB games.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said he is "very comfortable" with the catcher tandem of Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart after failing to re-sign catcher Russell Martin, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates acquired Cervelli in a trade with the Yankees.

"Francisco was an aggressive acquire for us," Huntington said, "and Chris did a heck of a job for us last year. We feel very comfortable with the defensive side, and we feel Francisco has some bat upside.

"At this point in time, we would feel very comfortable if opening day were tomorrow and this was our catching mix."